Hopple.



P. D. WELLBR. HOPPLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 24, 1905.

WITNESSES:

INVENTUR. 9&0 m @MMM/1f PATENTBD JAN. 30, 1906.

FRAN K D. WELLER,

HOP

No. 8 1 1,0 14. Specification of OF TOLEDU, OHIG.

FLIEMa Letters Patent. Patented J an. 30, 1906.

Application filed March 24, 1905. Serial No. 251,781.

To all wir/0m if may concern,.-`

Beit known that I, FRANK D. VVnLLnR, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Hopples; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the figures of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in the class of hopples used on racing-horses for preventing breaking and controlling the gait thereof, so that a horse may be caused to either trot or pace, depending upon the manner of the connecting hopple-loops.

The great objection incident to the use of hopples is that the constant reciprocating of the hopple-loops on the legs of a horse when in motion causes the same to be severely chafed at their point of contact and also irritates and frets the horse. Attempts have been made to obviate this objection by wrapping the hopple-loops with a soft material-such as wool, sheepskin, or the like; but these attempts have been only partially successful.

The object of my invention is to entirely, overcome the objections above noted by the provision of a rotatable element in the outer end of each loop, which is adapted to engage and move freely up and down on the portion of the legs engaged by the outer end of the loops without occasioning friction and a consequent chaiing thereof, and also to retain the l sides of the loops in spaced position and out of contact with the sides and rear and front portions of the fore and hind legs, respectively.

The invention is fully described in the following'specication and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a perspective view of a portion of a hopple with the loops provided with my invention, and Fig. 2 is a plan of the rotatable element of my invention with part shown in central longitudinal section.

Referring' to the drawings, l l represent either the fore or rear loops of a hopple, which are of suitable size to receive and move freely up and down on the legs of a horse and are suitably supported in proper position on the legs by means of a strap 2, which passes over the shoulders or hips of the horse, as the case may be. The straps 3 3 connect the fore and rear loops in pairs and are supported by one or more straps 4, which pass over the back of the horse.

In my invention thevloops l are each severed or left open at their outer ends and the sides thereof firmly spaced apart by means of a spindle 5, on which is mounted a roller 6. The roller 6 is preferably hollowed or made in the form of a shell, so as to lighten its construction as much as possible, and has its ends axially bored to form a socket for the reception of a hardened bearing-box 7, in which the bearing-balls 8 are adapted to turn and which is axially apertured, as shown at 9, to receive the spindle 5. The spindle 5 has its outer ends threaded to receive the cones 10 and the binding-nuts l1, the former coacting with the bearing-balls 8 and the latter locking the cones in properly-adjusted position. The roller 6 has its outer peripheral surface preferably concaved, as shown, to adapt it to more perfectly conform to the contour of the leg and also prcventlateral movement of the roller thereon, and it may be made of any suitable material.

In securing a roller within the outer portion of a loop 1 the ends of the loop-straps, which are provided with an aperture for that purpose, are placed in engagement with the ends of the spindle and firmly retained against the outer faces of the cones l0 by the bindingnuts ll, as shown in Fig'. 2. The straps 2, which support the outer portions of the loops l, may either have their forked ends connected directly to the ends of the spindle or secured to the end of the loop-straps l, as desired.

It will thus be seen that when a horse equipped with my improved hopple is in motion the loops 1 will be permitted to move freely up and down on theilegs by reason of the turning of the rollers 6 thereon, thereby preventing all friction between the contacting parts and the consequent chafing of the limbs.

It is obvious that such changes in the form, proportion, and minor details of construction of the parts as fairly fall within the scope of my invention may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

IOO

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l. rlhe combination with the leg-loop of a hopple, of a rotatable element mounted therein to have Contact with the leg.

2. The combination with the leg-loop of a hopple, of a rotatable element mounted therein and having a peripherally-coneaved surface for Contact with the leg.

3. The combination with the leg-loop of a hopple, of a spindle mounted transversely of the outer end of the loop and firmly spacing the sides thereof apart, and a rotatable element mounted on said spindle between the sides of the loop.

4f. In a hopple, the leg-loops each provided at the outer ends thereof with a rotatable element adapted to have contact with the legs and to retain the sides of the loops out of friotional engagement therewith.

5. A hopple, comprising leg-loops and supporting-straps therefor, said leg-loops each consisting of side straps or members, a spindle mounted in the outer ends of said straps or members and spacing them firmly apart, and

a rotatable element mounted on the spindle between the straps or members.

In testimony whereofl have hereunto signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing Witnesses.

FRANK D. VELLER.

Witnesses:

WILBER A. OWEN, CORNELL SGHREIBER. 

